Jar cleaning machine



Jul 12, 1938.

J. BAHELKA JAR CLEANING MACHINE Fil'ed Jan. 21, 17933 6 Sheets-Sheet' lw. N .emma mw www.

July 12, 1938. J. BAHELKA 2,1235594' JAK CLEANING MACHINE Filed Jan. 21,1935 e she'ets-sheet 2 July 12,1938. J. 'BAHELKA JAR CLEANING MACHINEFiled Jan. 21. 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 12, 1938; J. BAHELKA 2,123'594JAR CLEANING MACHINE Filed Jan. 21,, 1933 8 sneets-snee't 5 July12,'1938. J, BAHELKA 2,123, 59M4 JAR CLEANING MACHINE lFiled Jan. 21,1933 e shee'zs-sneet s 1 Patented July 12, 1938 PATENT OFFICE JARCLEANING MACHINE` `loseph Bahelka, Linden, N. J., assignor to Stanco,Inc.

Application January 21, 1933, Serial No. 652,836

5 O'laims.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cleaningreceptacles such as jars or the like.

One object of this invention is to clean the receptacles mechanically inaV fixed cycle and in a positive manner.

Another object is to clean receptacles mechanically using a straightline motion.

Still another object is to clean the receptacles with a combinedbrushing and air blasting operation.

Other objects will be apparent when the specification is taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which latter- Fig. l is aside elevational view of the device;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal horizontal sectional view taken along the lineIII III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view taken along the line IV- IV of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig.2; Fig. 5a is a top plan view of a preferred shape of the cups a to h;Fig. 5h is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in Fig.5a; I

Fig. 6 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional view taken along the lineVI- VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line VII VII ofFig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII ofFig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a detail transverse sectional view of the jar guide; and

Figs. 10 to inclusive are diagrammatic views in perspective showing stepby step the successive positions of the mechanism during the operationof cleaning the jars.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a removable stop S.

Fig. 17 is a Vertical sectional view taken along the line XVII-XVII ofFig. 5.

Fg. 18 is a Vertical sectional view taken along the line XVIII XVIII ofFig. 5.

Fig. 19 is a Vertical transverse sectional view taken along the lineXIX- XIX of Fig. 5, with the cross slide mechanism for clamping the jarsomitted.

Fig. 20 is a detail side elevational view of the mechanism for eifectingreciprocation of feed bar F.

Fig. 21 is a section taken along the line XXI- XIQ of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 22 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line XXII- XXIIof Fig. 21.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the apparatus' comprises a feedbelt A which is adapted to convey jars B in an inverted position againsta stop C. The jars are pushed laterally from the conveyor A by means ofa cross slide D to a jar 60' guide. E. A feed bar F reciprocableparallel with the jar guide E engages the positioned jars and moves themlaterally successively into position directly above brushes G. The feedbar F is reciprocable vertically up'wardly at the right hand end of itshorizontal stroke to a position free of the jars and is reciprocablevertically downwardly at the left hand end of its Vertical stroke intoposition to engage additional jars to be cleaned. The feed bar F is.provided withV a plurality of fingers a, b, c, d, e, g and see Fig. 2,for engaging and positively positioning the jars.` rlhe feed bar F canbe moved longitudinally a distance equal to twice the distance betweenadjoining pockets.

When the feed bar F has reached the right hand end of its horizontalstroke, the jars over the brushes G are engaged by suitable crossslides- I-I which securely clamp; the jars and maintain them in fixedposition while the feed bar is moving vertical-ly upwardly, thenhorizontally to the left as viewed in Fig. 12 and vertically downwardly.The brushes B move upwardly into the interior of the clamped jars whenthe feed bar F moves upwardly, see Fig. 12, and move down-v wardly fromthe clamped jars when the feed bar F moves downwardly. i

Successive horizontal movement of the feed bar F to the right brings thebrushed jars into position over nozzles I which inject airv into thebrushed jars, see Fig. 13. The thus cleaned jars B are delivered on toan endless conveyor J, see Fig. 15, by which they are delivered to asuitable place of disposalrnot shown. Fig. 13 shows the brushes G andthe nozzles I in their lowermost position prior to being moved upwardlyinto jars and with the feed bar F in its lower position.

Fg. 14 shows the feed bar F in its elevated position and the brushes Gand the' norzzles I projected into the interior of the jars.

Fig. 15 shows the 'position of the jars in the next succeeding stroke ofthe feed bar F in` the right hand direction. The feed bar F has made oneadditional stro'ke to the right, as viewed in Fig. 13, as compared withthe showing of Fig. 12, thereby bringing the' first jar into positionover the first nozzle I.

The feed conveyor A for feeding jars into the machine comprises a beltAone end of which is supported and driven by a pulley wheel 2, see Figs.1, 5 and 7, mounted on a shaft 3 which is supported in suitable bearngsin a main frame 5 of the machine. Power to drive thebelt conveyor issupplied from a main drive shaft 8 which is driven by a central sourceof power, see Figs. l, 3, 7 and 8, namely motor 9 through a belt iii,speed reducer i l, chain E2, sprocket wheel id and clutch |5.

Power is transmitted from the main drive shaft 8 to a cam-shaft 25through a sprocket wheel 2|; chain 22 to a sprocket wheel '23 keyed to'the camshaft 20. The cam-shaft 20 drives the feed belt pulley 2 by meansof a bevel gear 25, see Fig. 4, keyed to the cam-shaft 20, bevel gear26, sprocket wheel 21, chain 28 and sprocket wheel 29 keyed to the shaft3.

The inverted jars B having been carried by the conveyor until theendmost jar abuts the stop C, the first and third jars are translatedlaterally from position No. 1 to position No. 2 by means of cross slideD. The second jar is held by a removable stop S which is removed whenlarger jars are used. The cross slide D comprises a slide plate havingspaced arms 35 and 36 adapted to engage the first and third jars. Theslide plate is mounted for reciprocating movement transversely of theconveyor A and is actuated by means of a cam 38 driven by the cam-shaft20. The cam 38 has a cam-way 39 engaged by a cam follower 40 which inturn drives a lever 4| to rotate a post 42 rotatably carried by the mainframe 5. The post 42 actuates a lever 43 which through the link 44reciprocates the cross slide D from position No. 1 to position No. 2 andvice versa.

The post 42 is keyed to a link 50, see Figs. 1, 4 and '1, which in turnhas pivotal connection with a link assembly 5|, which by pivoting abouta pivot point 52a secured to the frame of the machine controls thespacer or Separator 5|a, for the jars. The bar 5| is returned to itsoriginal position and away from the post 42 by means of link 50 throughrotation of the post 42 and the cam 38. The light spring 5|b functionsto soften or lessen the shock of the spacer 5|a against the jars whenthe slide and spacer come together.

The two jars B having been moved to position No. 2 are supported uponsuitable jar guides 60 which extend longitudinally of the main frame 5of the machine. The jars B are now carried in step by step movementlongitudinally of the machine upon the jar guides 60 by means of thefeed bar F and its depending fingers a to h inclusive. The fingers a toh inclusive are cup shaped members which are adapted to freely receiveand positively position the jars. The feed bar F is supported by a feedbar frame including slide bars 62 andl 63, see Fig. 5, which dependdownwardly and which carry a bridge 64 beneath the jar guide 68, seeFigs. 2, 6 and '1. The bridge 64 is composed of a main bar 64 and aparallel bar 640. The feed bar assembly moves up and down with feed barF and is balanced by a weight 64' to insure smooth action. The weight64' is supported by a lever 64a on one side of the pivotal connection641) of the lever 64a to the frame 5. The lever 64a on the other side ofpivot 64b is connected to the bridge 64. The slide bars 62 and 63 aremounted for vertical reciprocation in guideways 66 supported by the mainframe 5 of the machine.

The feed bar assembly is driven in Vertical reciprocation through thefollowing arrangement of parts: The slide bars 62 and 63 each carries acam follower 10 which are adapted to be actuated by cams 1| driven by afeed bar cam,- shaft 12. The feed bar cam-shaft 12 carries rigidly amitre gear 14 which meshes with a similar gear 15 on a shaft 16. Theshaft 16 carries rigidly a mitre gear 11 which meshes with a similargear 18 mounted upon the cam-shaft 20.

Horizontal reciprocation of the feed bar F is effected by the followingarrangement of parts: The slide bars 62 and 63 of the feed bar framecarry bracket arms 81 at their upper ends which in turn supportguideways 88 in which the feed bar F has horizontal reciprocatorymovement parallel with the jar guide 60. This movement is effectedthrough a link 90 which is pivotally attached at one end to the feed barF and at its other end to a lever 9|, see Figs. 1, 2 and 20, the base ofwhich is pivoted at 92 to the frame 5 of the machine. A link 93 ispivotally connected to an intermediate portion of the lever 9| at oneend and is pivotally connected at its opposite end to a cam-lever 94.The cam-lever 94 is pivoted to the main frame 5 at 95. The camlever 94carries a cam follower 96 which engages in the camway of a feed barstroke cam 91 driven by the shaft 16. The lever 9| is normallymaintained in its retracted position indicated in dotted lines in Fig.20 by means of a helical spring 9|a.

The Vertical and longitudinal reciprocation of the feed bar F is sotimed that when the feed bar F is at the left hand end of its stroke asviewed in Fig. 1, the feed bar is drawn vertically downwardly intoposition for the feed bar ngers a and b to engage jars B which have beenpositioned upon the jar guide 60. The feed bar F is then moved to theright as viewed in Fig. 11 while retained in its lower position therebymoving the jars forwardly. The feed bar is then lifted verticallyupwardly to a position in spaced relation to the jars after which thefeed bar is moved horizontally to the left as viewed in Fig. 12 to itsinitial position. The jars are thus moved forwardly in successiveincrements to position the jars successively directly above the brushesG.

When the feed bar F has arrived at the end of its stroke to the right asviewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 11 the jars are clamped between the crossslides H. The cross slides comprise plate members mounted forreciprocation transversely of the jar guide 60 in guideways |0I. Theplate members |00 are recessed at |02 and are provided with fingers |03to receive the jars. The plate members are reciprocated by the followingarrangement of parts: A link has pivotal connection with the platemembers and with a lever 106. The lever |06 is actuated by means of apost |01 rotatably mounted in the frame 5 of the machine. The post |01carries at its bottom a cam lever |88 carrying a cam follower |09 whichengages in the camway of a cam I|0 driven by the shaft 20. The post |01has driving connection with the farther cross slide H by means of an arm|01a pivotally connected to a link |01c which in turn is pivotallyconnected to an arm 0117 rigidly secured to the post |01 which actuatesthis particular cross slide H.

The brushes G are elevated upon the upward stroke of the feed bar F intothe interiors of the clamped jars and are retained in their elevatedposition while the feed bar F passes in horizontal travel to the left asviewed in Fig. 1. The brushes G are driven in rotation through thefollowing arrangement of parts: The brushes G which are situated onbridge 64 carry gears ||5 which mesh with a gear ||6. The gear ||6 ismounted upon a shaft ||1 which carries a bevel gear ||8. The bevel gear||8 meshes with a bevel gear ||9 on a shaft |20. The shaft |20 carries asprocket wheel |2| which is driven through a chain |22 and sprooketwheel |25 from the cam-shaft 20.

The revolving brushes loosen and remove any particles of dirt upon theinterior of the clamped jars while the feed bar F is making its returnstroke. The cross slides H then separate releasing the jars whereuponboth the feed barF and the brushes G are lowered.

The jars are now moved horizontally to the right as Viewed in Fig. 1 toa position directly over the nozzles I, situated on bridge 64. Upwardmovement of the frame carrying the nozzles I injects the nozzles intothe interior of the jars whereby the inner surfaces of the jars arecleaned by a blast of fluid such as air or the like. Any loosenedmaterial remaining after the brushing operation is blown from the jars.The supply of air to the nozzles I is Controlled by an air valvecontained in an air line |3| which opens into an air Chamber |32 mountedupon the bridge 64, see Figs. 4 and 5. The nozzles I project directlyfrom the air Chamber |32. The clean jars are delivered from' the jarguide 60 to a conveyor J which conducts the clean jars to a suitableplace of disposal, not shown.

My invention is not to be limited to any specific disclosure describedherein but only by the following claims in which I wish to claim allnovelty not inherent in the prior art.

I claim:

1. A jar Cleaning machine, comprising a guideway adapted to receivejars, a feed bar assembly including a feed bar mounted substantiallyparallel with and spaced from the guideway and having a plurality ofspaced jar receiving pockets disposed throughout its length, means foreffecting horizontal reciprocation of the feed bar whereby the jars aremoved forwardly along the guideway on the forward stroke of said feedbar, cleaning elements secured to the assembly in spaced relation to andfacing the pockets to form a unit with the assembly, and means formoving the unit in one direction at the end of the forward stroke of thefeed bar whereby the cleaning elements are inserted into the jars andthe pockets are vvithdrawn from the jars to permit the feed bar to passthe jars on its rearward stroke and for moving the unit in the oppositedirection at the end of the rearward stroke of the feed bar whereby thecleaning elements are withdrawn from the jars and the thus treated jarsare received by the pockets.

2. A jar cleaning machine, comprising a guideway adapted to receivejars, a feed bar assembly including a feed bar mounted substantiallyparallel with and spaced from the guideway and having a plurality of jarreceiving pockets disposed throughout its length, means for effectinghorizontal reciprocation of the feed bar whereby the jars are movedforwardly along the guideway on the forward stroke of said feed bar,means for holding jars on said guideway in fixed stationary position atthe end of each forward stroke, cleaning elements secured to theassembly in spaced relation to and facing the pockets to form a unitwith the assembly and means for moving the unit in one direction at theend of the forward stroke of the feed bar whereby the cleaning elementsare inserted into the held jars and the pockets are withdrawn from theheld jars to permit the feed bar to pass the jars on its rearwardstroke, and for moving the unit in the opposite direction at the end ofthe rearward stroke of the feed bar whereby the cleaning elements arewithdrawn from the held jars and the thus treated 'jars are againreceived by the pockets.

3. A jar cleaning machine, comprising a guideway adapted to receivejars, a feed bar assembly including a feed bar mounted substantiallyparallel with and spaced from the guideway and having a plurality ofdepending spaced jar receiving pockets disposed throughout its length,means for eifecting horizontal reciprocation of the feed bar whereby thejars are moved forwardly along the guideway on the forward stroke ofsaid feed bar, means for holding jars on said guideway in fixedstationary position at the end of each forward stroke, cleaning elementssecured to the assembly below and in spaced relation to and facing thepockets to form a unit with the assembly, and means for moving the unitvertically upwardly at the end of the for- Ward stroke of the feed barwhereby the cleaning elements are inserted into the held jars and thepockets are withdrawn from the held jars to permit the feed bar to passthe jars on its rearward stroke and for moving the unit verticallydownwardly at the end of the rearward stroke of the feed bar whereby thecleaning elements are withdrawn from the held jars and the thus treatedjars are received by the pockets.

4. A jar cleaning machine, comprising a guideway, means including spacedarms for positioning jars in spaced relation on the guideway in invertedposition, a feed bar assembly including a feed bar mounted substantiallyparallel with and spaced from the guideway and having a plurality ofpockets disposed throughout its length spaced to receive the positionedjars, means for eifecting horizontal reciprocation of the feed barwhereby the jars are moved forwardly along the guideway on the forwardstroke of said feed bar, cleaning elements secured to the assembly inspaced relation to and facing the pockets to form a unit with theassembly and means for moving the unit in one direction at the end ofthe forward stroke of the feed bar whereby the cleaning elements areinserted into the jars and the pockets are withdrawn from the jars topermit the feed bar to pass the jars on its rearward stroke and formoving the unit in the opposite direction at the end of the rearwardstroke of the feed bar whereby the cleaning elements are withdrawn fromthe jars and the thus treated jars together with freshly fed jars arereceived by the pockets.

5. A jar cleaning machine, comprising a guideway, means for feeding jarsinto spaced inverted position upon the guideway, a feed bar assemblyincluding a feed bar mounted substantially parallel with and spaced fromthe guideway and having a plurality of depending pockets disposedthroughout its length spaced to receive the positioned jars, means foreffecting horizontal reciprocation of the feed bar whereby the jars aremoved forwardly along the guideway on the forward stroke of said feedbar, means for holding jars on said guideway in fixed stationaryposition at the' end of each forward stroke, cleaning elementsl securedto the assembly below and in spaced relation to and facing the pocketsto form a unitwith the assembly, and means for moving the unitvertically upwardly at the end of the forward stroke of the feed barwhereby the cleaning elements are inserted into the held jars and thepockets are withdrawn from the held jars to permit the feed bar to passthe jars on its rearward stroke and for moving the unit verticallydownwardly at the end of the rearward stroke of the feed bar whereby thecleaning elements are withdrawn from the held jars and the thus treatedjars together with the freshly fed jars are received by the pockets.

JOSEPH BAHELKA.

